


Kitten Bonding

by anotherfirename



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Haruto is once more dragged into friendship, and Misumi is just being Misumi, feat. Cheshire the kitten, just a chill time hanging out in a pet store, very mild act 3 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:33:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28407789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherfirename/pseuds/anotherfirename
Summary: Lately Haruto has taken to stopping by various pet stores just because he finds it soothing. He didn't expect to run into someone he (sort of) knows there.
Relationships: Ikaruga Misumi & Asuka Haruto
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	Kitten Bonding

**Author's Note:**

> "I don’t mean that I’m into it but… If it had to say, then going around pet shops. Not just the usual dogs and cats, I’m looking at various animals that are a bit unique like birds and small creatures. The reason is… I guess I’m doing it because it personally soothes me." - [Asuka Haruto](https://the-himawari.tumblr.com/post/628164284302655488/a3-magazine-interview-translation-pash)

Lately Haruto has taken to visiting pet stores during his free time, dropping by on his way back to the station as he makes his way home. He doesn’t have a pet and doesn’t have plans to get one, but looking at the animals is soothing in its own way. It’s not just the cats and dogs that he enjoys watching, though they are definitely appealing, but the pocket pets and birds have their own distinct charms. Lately Haruto has been particularly fond of watching the rabbits groom each other.

Today, after returning from a meeting with Reni, he pauses at a pet store so that he can watch the animals through the front window. This store keeps its kittens housed near the window to draw in customers and let the kittens laze about in the sun. Most of the kittens are sleeping, curled up into little fuzzballs huddled together in the last patch of sunlight, but one gray kitten is still awake and batting at the cat toys left just barely in reach. 

It’s soothing and almost meditative to watch. And then Haruto is nearly scared out of his skin when a face smooshes up against the glass in front of him. 

It takes Haruto a second to collect himself and recognize the familiar but distorted face. Misumi Ikaruga. One of Mankai’s actors. A fact which almost makes Haruto’s lip curl with distaste, even though the rival theatre companies are on better terms with each other now. Plus Misumi is Madoka’s older brother, and Haruto realizes that he had better be minimally polite unless he wants to risk Madoka moping around again. Moping is not productive for a playwright, so Haruto stays where he is as Misumi exits the store to join him. 

“Genta~” Misumi greets cheerfully. 

Haruto flinches and swallows down the barbed words in his throat. He knows exactly who told Misumi that name, and he would strangle the man for it if Tasuku weren’t so damn tall. 

“Do you like cats?” Misumi continues, seemingly oblivious to the twitch in Haruto’s eye. 

“I think they’re soothing to watch,” Haruto answers carefully. 

He’s already said as much in a recent interview, so he reasons that there’s no harm in repeating the sentiment. He starts to reconsider, however, when Misumi’s grin somehow grows even wider. 

“Come in!” Misumi says. “I’ll introduce you!” 

“I doubt the store would allow us to play with their animals,” Haruto points out. 

“It’s okay. I work here, silly!” 

Haruto’s gaze drifts down enough to confirm that yes, Misumi is indeed wearing an apron with the pet store’s name emblazoned across it. Misumi might be a good actor, almost infuriatingly so, but Haruto can’t imagine someone hiring him for anything but acting. To be honest, Haruto always thought Misumi survived by scrounging for scraps and loose change. That’s definitely not something he’d voice aloud in front of Madoka though. 

Haruto hasn’t even agreed before Misumi grabs his wrist and practically drags him inside. There are a few other staff members working but no one pays them any attention. They’re already used to Misumi being Misumi, and he has such a way with even the most difficult animals that everyone just lets him be. So no one comes to Haruto’s rescue when Misumi sits him down on a scratched up plastic chair. Haruto considers making a run for it when Misumi’s back is turned, but he hesitates for too long and the next thing he knows the gray kitten from earlier is being deposited on his lap. 

“This one is Cheshire,” Misumi introduces as the kitten peers up at Haruto. “Her ears are perfect little triangles! Aren’t they cute?” 

Haruto refrains from commenting on the triangle part, but Cheshire does have cute ears. And when she mews and bats her tiny paw in his general direction like she’s asking to play? Now that’s just not fair. Quietly Misumi slips a dangly cat toy into Haruto’s hand, and Cheshire’s eyes light up. She bats and pounces at the cat toy, apparently trusting Haruto to prevent her from falling off his lap. 

Apparently tiring of the toy, Cheshire rolls onto her back and grabs onto Haruto’s wrist with her front paws. She opens her mouth and tries to get her teeth around Haruto’s thumb, and Haruto pulls back more out of surprise than anything. Cheshire is still far too little to do much damage. 

“No biting,” Misumi scolds gently. 

The kitten mews back, and for a second Haruto swears it sounds like they were actually having a conversation. He tries to not entertain that thought for too long. Instead Haruto mostly tunes out Misumi’s happy chatter about all the little quirks and preferences of every animal in the store. Even though Misumi’s only a part-timer he knows every single animal as though it’s his own. If Haruto didn’t know better, he’d call it a very effective sales technique instead of Misumi just being Misumi. 

Eventually Cheshire tires and yawns, and it’s only now that Haruto realizes how late it is. He didn’t have any plans for the rest of today, but he didn’t expect to spend this long in the pet store. Cheshire purrs as she rubs against him before curling up in his lap. 

Play time is over. It’s time for kitten nap time. 

Misumi carefully picks up the sleeping kitten and sets her down next to her siblings. When Cheshire snuggles up to the other kittens but doesn’t wake, Haruto releases a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. 

“That was,” Haruto begins. 

Nice? Fun? There are a few socially acceptable words that Haruto could tack onto the end of his sentence, but for some reason saying them to Misumi just feels weird. Even though Misumi never held anything against him and probably never will. 

“Thank you,” Haruto says instead. 

“Come back any time!” Misumi says cheerfully. “Oh, but maybe only when we’re open.” 

Haruto is about to ask why Misumi felt the need to clarify that, but then he decides that he doesn’t want to know. Somehow he wouldn’t be surprised if Misumi visited the animals in the middle of the night. Instead he wonders if he should say something else, but ultimately Haruto is saved from an awkward good bye when another employee calls Misumi over to help with something in the back. 

“Bye Genta!” Misumi calls before running off, and this time Haruto feels more defeated than angry. 

As he walks away he makes a mental note to never pass by this pet store again. Or maybe he should pass by this pet store more often. After all, who else is going to just let him play with the kittens?


End file.
